Combined ampoule and injection syringe



May 8, 1951 F. LEoNETTl ETAL 2,552,100

COMBINED AMPOULE AND INJECTION sYRlNGE Filed March 31, 1949 Patented May 8, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED AMPOULE AND INJECTION SYRINGE Y Franois Leonetti and Franois Tasso, Paris, France Application March 31, 1949, Serial No. 84,524 In France April 6, 1948 3 claims. (o1. 12s- 215) l In' certain cases the manipulations to be perf formed in the preparation of`hypodermic or intramuscular injections involve a loss of time which may be embarrassing and even dangerous.

As a matter of fact, itis necessary to sterilize the syringe and the needle, to break the ampoule and to fillthe syringe, operations which take time and are delicate.

The present invention is concerned with an ampoule so designed that it constitutes at the same time an injection syringe, ready to be applied within a few seconds, Without any risk of infection, even by a person only moderately skilled, and anywhere.

4'Such ampoule-syringes are also useful in a doctors kit where they take up only little space and enable a doctor to make an injection without any loss of time and wherever required.

The invention consists essentially in enclosing the liquid to be injected in a casing, at one extremity or edge of which there is located a sterilized needle protected by an hermetic sealing cap of a suitable thin material (such as plastic).

Another part of the casing is partitioned 01T by a movable or flexible partition which may be in the form of a stopper constituting a tighttting piston, sealed off by means of a thin layer of an airtight substance such as collodion or parain wax. Alternatively, the partition may be in the form of an elastic membrane, for example of rubber.

The elastic partition may be actuated direct, for example by thumb-pressure.

In a modication of the invention the ampoule consists of a rigid member having a thumbshaped indentation above which a membrane of elastic material (or of a soft but inelastic material) is arranged. In the latter case the membrane is given a convex shape so that, when it is depressed, it ts exactly into the cavity in the rigid member. This membrane is made to adhere snugly to the outline of the cavity in the rigid member.

The liquid to be injected is kept in a hollow space oi oval contour arranged between the indentation in the rigid member and the membrane covering it. By thumb-pressure on the membra-ne it is possible to depress the latter very exactly towards the indentation in the rigid member, i. e., to evacuate with ease the whole of the liquid without leaving any behind.

For preference the rigid member is given the general form of a thick disc, the injection channel and consequently the needle being arranged horizontally in the wall of this disc.

lrepresentations of examples of means for carrying out the invention are shown: Y

Figure 1 is a plan view of an ampoule according to the present invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are sections of .two variants on A-B in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section on C-D in Figure 1 of an ampoule after having been crushed at the end of an injection of the liquid it contains; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modication.

As indicated in the drawings, the ampoule consists of a rigid member I designed in the general shape of a thick disc on top of which there is an indentation or cavity 2 conforming to the general shape of the rst joint of a persons thumb and to the circumference of which an absolutely tightly fitting membrane 3 is attached. In the variant shown in Figure 2 this membrane is soft but not elastic, thus it assumes a convex shape essentially symmetrical to the cavity 2, so that the pressure of the thumb enables it to be brought into contact with the cavity at all points.

In the variant shown in Figure 3, membrane 3 is soft and elastic, thus when it is not depressed and the ampoule is full, it may be essentially plane. In Figures 2 and 3, l is a channel originating in the cavity 2 and serving for the evacuation of the liquid; in continuation of this channel there is a needle 5, advantageously encased in a protecting cap 6 made of a suitable material, such as glass, secured at 8 where the needle is xed. It can be seen that, provided the device is properly sterilized, no contamination of the liquid or of the needle can occur.

To make an injection the protecting cap 6 is removed, the needle is inserted into the patient and membrane 3 is crushed by thumb-pressure while disc l is held with two other fingers of the hand, membrane 3 thus following exactly the shape of the cavity 2, whereby the whole of the .liquid contained in the ampoule is evacuated.

In the modification shown in Figure 5, the numeral li) designates a hollow container having a bottom I l and a stopper l2 slidable in an opening at its top end. The stopper I2' acts as a piston for ejecting the contents of the container Hl a manner to be described. A sealing lm of collodion or paraiiin may be provided at i3 to prevent leakage. The bottom l l is provided with an opening at ifi for connection with a needle 5 as explained above. When it is desired to eject the contents of the ampoule, it is merely necessary to press the stopper l2 inwardly by ones 3 thumb. Such action will break the seal I3 and force the fluid through the needle 5.

What we claim is:

1. A disposable ampoule for the hypodermic injection of medicaments forming at the same time in an injection syringe, comprising, in combination, a body with a cavity open to the outside, a displaceable wall closing said opening in the cavity which may be operated by a manual squeezing operation to reduce the size of said cavity to eject the contents therefrom, means for the tight sealing off of said wall all around the outline of said opening, a channel drilled through said body from the cavity to the outside, a tubular needle permanently fixed on said body with its bore in line with said channel, and a cap sealed directly to the body and completely encasing said needle.

2. Ampoule for the hypodermic injection of medicaments forming at the same time an injeotion syringe, comprising, in combination, a rigid disc, a cavity in said disc conformng to the conguraton of the first joint of the thumb, a flexible and airtight membrane covering said cavity, said membrane having a convex shape essentially symmetrical to the bottom of the cavity, means for the tight sealing off of said cover all around the outline of said opening in said cavity, a channel drilled in said disc from the cavity to the outside, a tubular needle mounted on said disc with its bore in line with said channel, and a cap sealed to said disc and completely encasing said needle.

3. Ampoule for the hypodermic injection of medicaments forming at the same time an injection syringe, comprising, in combination, 'a rigid disc, a cavity in said disc conforming to the conguraton of the rst joint of the thumb, an airtight flexible and elastic membrane essentially plane covering said cavity, means for the tight sealing off of said cover all around the outline of said opening in said cavity, a channel drilled in said disc from the cavity to the outside, a tubular needle mounted tightly on said disc with its bore in line with said channel, and a cap sealed on said disc and completely encasing the needle.

FRANCOIS LEONETTI.

FRANQOIS TASSO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 25 Number Name Date 558,756 DeBacker April 21, 1896 1,144,343 Benmosche et al. June 29, 1915 1,529,659 Marcy March 17, 1925 1,867,355 Fletcher July 12, 1932 30 2,475,939 Applezweig July 12, 1949 

